Lecture looks at forest life without top predators

How forests would look without top predators, such as mountain lions and wolves, is the subject of a lecture March 5 by Aaron Wirsing, assistant professor of forest resources.

The lecture is at 7 p.m. in 120 Kane. It is free and open to the public but advance registration is requested by calling 206-543-0540 or by registering online.

Wirsing will talk about his work on tiger shark and prey interactions in Australia as well as some recent case studies from U.S. national parks, according to the event Web site. He will make the case for carnivore conservation and how we can manage resources to preserve the carnivores of the Pacific Northwest.

The lecture is sponsored by the College of Forest Resources and the UW Alumni Association.

Wirsing joined the college this year. In 2008, he was co-author on a number of papers including “Predicting ecological consequences of marine top predator declines” in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, and “Seascapes of fear: evaluating sublethal predator effects experienced and generated by marine mammals” in Marine Mammal Science.